Akinwumi Adesina: Celebrating
the First Nigerian Winner of World Food Prize Laureate
In the last ten years or so, Adesina has
been a household name in both rural and urban nooks and crannies of Africa. He
has been a friend to the nations’ Presidents, shrewd business tycoons and
resourced – poor peasant farmers. This is a wide range of diversity. It is
amazing how one man swings from dinning and wining with global movers and
shakers of the World to intimate interaction with rural dwellers, the strong pillars
of African Agriculture. This swinging vocation, which Adesina pursued
vigorously and passionately finally paid off as he was pronounced to be the
winner of the most coveted global recognition in Agriculture – winner of the
2017 World Food Prize Laureate.
The prize award ceremony took place in a
far away Des Moines, Iowa state of United State of America. It was done on 19th
October 2017 in the magnificent Iowa State Capitol building in Des Moines. Over
1,000 international guests, African - Americans and other citizens of USA
graced the occasion. At the marvelous capitol building, an equivalent to
government house in Nigeria, two past African Heads of governments; Mr.
Olusugun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Mr. John Mahama of Ghana conspicuously honored
the august gathering. Nigerian government was ably represented by delegation
led by Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Hon. Heineken Lokpobiri.
The ceremony is deliberately set as part of
the celebration to mark the World Food Day, which is a week series of
activities starting from 16th of October for each year. The prize
consists of cash award of $250,000 and hand – carved sculpture created by the
internationally acclaimed famous artist, Mr. Saul Bass. World Food Prize is awarded
to exceptional achievers in fields involved in or related to the production and
distribution of food and reduction of hunger. Generally, the criteria is drawn
to meet the qualification set by the founder, Dr. Norman Borlaug who said "It
is imperative that those individuals whose work has truly made a difference in
the lives and well-being of large numbers of people are considered for this
award". The award ceremony is equivalent to those of the Nobel Prize in
Sweden and Norway, drawing at least 800 international guests. Each year,
world-class performers take the stage to honor the World Food Prize Laureate,
and the event is televised and webcast live. Past performers included Ray
Charles, John Denver, Broadway star Leslie Odom Jr., the Tokyo String Quartet,
the Kathak Gunjan dancers from India, and international and recording stars
such as Chachi Tadesse of Ethiopia and Achinoam Nini (Noa) from Yemen. After
the award presentation, the celebration continues at the Laureate Award Dinner,
held in the rotunda of the Capitol. The 2017 award ceremony featured
prominently the Aduni musical troupe from Lagos, Nigeria. Many USA based Africans
especially Nigerians trooped to Des Moines to witness the auspicious event. No
doubt, Adesina was a pride to Africa and a motivator to the young scientists across
the globe. How did he make it to the top? It was a tortuous journey embedded
with ups and downs, which lasted over two decades.
Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina was born on 6th
February 1960 to the family of Roland Folorunso Adesina and Eunice Adesina in
the bounteous town of Ibadan, Oyo state capital, Nigeria. He was the second son
to the family with four sons. He was raised in a communal one-room apartment without
basic amenities of life. Although his grandfather and father worked as farm
laborers, his father was eventually able to receive basic education, which led
to his employment as a civil servant and provided the means to send his own
sons to school. His father believed so much in education as a “leveler” out of
poverty, a personal principle he cherished and used to sensitize his sons and
members of the society to enroll in schools. Adesina as a son of low-income
family had his basic education in a village school rather than a city school,
which made him to face the reality of rural poverty experienced by smallholder
farmers and their families. Perhaps, it was the lesson in his early life that
shaped and made him to be the darling of rural farmers in Africa. All his life,
he was and still accessible to the downtrodden and poor-resourced farmers. His father wanted him to read medicine in the
university, which made Adesina to write university entrance examination twice;
and at both times, Adesina was offered admission to read agriculture. The
father had to resign to fate and allowed the young Adesina to read agriculture
as a divine choice. Perhaps, the father wanted his son to be called “doctor”, -
a reason why Adesina wrote a letter to his father with bold inscription of “Dr.
A. Adesina” when he completed his PhD program at Purdue University. Or perhaps,
the father was just thinking that “medicine” was better than “agriculture” – a
reason why the father, at one time, relaxed in Adesina’s residence called call
- out his grandson (Adesina’s son) enthusiastically “Doctor” after the
grandson’s graduation from medical school; Adesina, being a PhD holder, present
at one corner of the same residence heard the call and answered “yes Daddy”. The
father turned back and say “I am not referring to you but calling the real
doctor”. Well, a kind of exultant outcome to the family, the father has
both “Doctors”; (a PhD holder) and the real “Doctor”. Only that even the real
Doctor, most of the times recommends to their patients to take their drugs
after meals – signifying that food and nutrition (Agriculture) are the sound
foundation to healthy (Medicine) body. Adesina reported this story to the
pleasure of his audience during his interaction with higher school students
under the auspices of Global Youth Institute at Dupont Pioneer, Carver Center,
Des Moines, USA on 21st October 2017. It was indeed a motivation to
some us present at the occasion.
Adesina graduated with first-class honor in
agricultural economics from the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolawo
University), Ile – Ife, Nigeria where he reportedly top his class. After his
service year, Adesina flew to United State of America for his postgraduate
programs. He earned his Masters, (1985) and Ph.D. (1988) in Agricultural
Economics at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. His postgraduate
years at Purdue, as a postgraduate student with family were financially challenging.
However, some professors and their families provided mentorship and part-times
jobs, which sustained Adesina’s family. Twenty-seven
years, after graduating from Purdue, the same university (Purdue) accorded
Adesina with an honorary doctorate degree in 2015 as a recognition of an
excellent alumnus.
After
successful graduation from his postgraduate programs, Adesina’s desire was to
return to Africa. This is where his knowledge, acumen and skill were needed to
assist smallholder farmers increase crop production and improve their
livelihoods. Consequently, he secured a post-doctoral fellowship at the
Rockefeller Foundation in 1988. After his fellowship, he moved to West African
Rice Development Association (WARDA) as Senior Economist from 1990 to 1995,
Adesina served as Senior Economist in Bouake, Cote d’Ivoire—where Dr. Monty
Jones (2004 World Food Prize Laureate) was breeding new rice varieties known as
NERICA. From 1998 to 1995, Adesina served (International Institute for Tropical
Agriculture) as Senior Economist at IITA in Ibadan, Nigeria. In 1998, he returned to the Rockefeller
Foundation as Senior Agricultural Scientist in New York, and a year later he
was appointed the first Director of the Foundation’s newly opened Southern
Africa Regional Office in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 2002, he became Rockefeller’s
Associate Director, Food Security. He continued this formative stage and career
- building until he became a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in
2011. As minister, he served diligently and attracted several accolades that moved
him to the next level. Currently, he is serving as the 8th President
of African Development Bank with Headquarters in Cote d’Ivoire. This was a
position he stepped into after serving as Nigeria’s minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development. What are the spectacular reasons that qualified Dr. Akinwumi
Adesina as the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate? How Nigeria and indeed the rest
of Africa benefit from the prize won by Dr. Adesina? To be continued next week
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